Chapter 6 of A Practical Novelist is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter VI
Chapter 6 of A Practical Novelist is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill. Frank took a chair opposite him. 'Mr. Hay,' said Lee, 'we may as well come to the point at once. My daughter cannot marry you. I have chosen her a husband.'
Chapter 6 of A Practical Novelist is here in full — 159 sentences across 32 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/31 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
one who is the object of choice; who is given preference
From this reading “I have chosen her a husband.'”
third-person singular of “enjoy” — derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading “LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.”
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading “Frank took a chair opposite him.”
grass mowed and cured for use as fodder
From this reading “'Mr. Hay,' said Lee, 'we may as well come to the point at once.”
United States filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in America (born in 1957)
From this reading “LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.”
take in marriage
From this reading “My daughter cannot marry you.”
being directly across from each other; facing
From this reading “Frank took a chair opposite him.”
pen made from a bird's feather
From this reading “LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
without delay or hesitation; with no time intervening
In this reading “'Mr. Hay,' said Lee, 'we may as well come to the point at once.”
In this reading “Frank took a chair opposite him.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading 'Mr. Hay,' said Lee, 'we may as well come to the point at once.
in or near a particular place or position
From this reading 'Mr. Hay,' said Lee, 'we may as well come to the point at once.
inflected form of “begin” — take the first step or steps in carrying out an action
From this reading LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.
at or toward the back of something
From this reading LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading My daughter cannot marry you.
a seat for one person, with a support for the back
From this reading Frank took a chair opposite him.
one who is the object of choice; who is given preference
From this reading I have chosen her a husband.'
move toward, travel toward something or somebody or approach something or somebody
From this reading 'Mr. Hay,' said Lee, 'we may as well come to the point at once.
a female human offspring
From this reading My daughter cannot marry you.
being or moving lower in position or less in some value
From this reading LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.
third-person singular of “enjoy” — derive or receive pleasure from; get enjoyment from; take pleasure in
From this reading LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.
characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion
From this reading Frank took a chair opposite him.
used with a past participle to form the perfect tenses
From this reading I have chosen her a husband.'
grass mowed and cured for use as fodder
From this reading 'Mr. Hay,' said Lee, 'we may as well come to the point at once.
belonging to a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned
From this reading I have chosen her a husband.'
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading Frank took a chair opposite him.
used when the man or boy doing the action is also its object
From this reading LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.
a married man; a woman's partner in marriage
From this reading I have chosen her a husband.'
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I have chosen her a husband.'
United States filmmaker whose works explore the richness of black culture in America (born in 1957)
From this reading LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.
take in marriage
From this reading My daughter cannot marry you.
used to say something is possible, or to give permission
From this reading 'Mr. Hay,' said Lee, 'we may as well come to the point at once.
a form of address for a man
From this reading 'Mr. Hay,' said Lee, 'we may as well come to the point at once.
belonging to the person speaking
From this reading My daughter cannot marry you.
on one occasion
From this reading 'Mr. Hay,' said Lee, 'we may as well come to the point at once.
being directly across from each other; facing
From this reading Frank took a chair opposite him.
a geometric element that has position but no extension
From this reading LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.
pen made from a bird's feather
From this reading LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.
being the one previously mentioned or spoken of
From this reading 'Mr. Hay,' said Lee, 'we may as well come to the point at once.
the seventh and last day of the week; observed as the Sabbath by Jews and some Christians
From this reading LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.
a set of data arranged in rows and columns
From this reading LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading LEE ENJOYS HIMSELF Lee sat down behind the table and began to point a quill.
inflected form of “take” — carry out
From this reading Frank took a chair opposite him.
the speaker together with one or more other people
From this reading 'Mr. Hay,' said Lee, 'we may as well come to the point at once.
(often used as a combining form) in a good or proper or satisfactory manner or to a high standard (“good” is a nonstandard dialectal variant for “well”)
From this reading 'Mr. Hay,' said Lee, 'we may as well come to the point at once.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading My daughter cannot marry you.
Chapter 6 of A Practical Novelist by John Davidson holds 159 sentences, grouped into 32 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 6 holds 159 sentences of A Practical Novelist, unabridged, divided into 32 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 6 of A Practical Novelist by John Davidson exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 159 sentences, grouped into 32 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 32 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 32 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 6 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading A Practical Novelist by John Davidson on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 1813 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #35313 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #35313, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 151 minutes of reading across 363 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Practical Novelist section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 11 chapters of A Practical Novelist to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A Practical Novelist, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
